That's right, I 'm looking for a mansion ...

Looking for an apartment at the moment, which in Japan, especially Tokyo it seems, is a rather daunting task. The cost can be astronimical and the typical size is much smaller than what is found in the US typically. Of course, there are many factors that affect the cost. Some of which are the proximty to the urban center of Tokyo, the walking distance to the nearest train station and which line it is, the age of the building, and various other things. Of course there are gaijin houses (foreigner houses) which are a step up from a youth hostel. Basically it a large apartment where everyone has their own room, but share kitchen and bath. It's very affordable, if you dont mind sharing a space. It's so affordable that more and more young Japanese are even renting there!


The fun begins with a stop down to your local fudousan (real estate agency. A lot of them won't deal with foreingers, but a few do. It helps if you can speak Japanese or come with your boss (such as I am doing). There are basically 2 choices: an apaato or a manshion. An Apaato (short for apartment) is usually an older wooden building with tatami floors and very thin walls so you can hear every slurp of your neighbor's soup. They tend to be cheaper and larger, but usually with not great heating and can sometimes be bug-gy. The other type, which I am currently in temporarily and trying to find, is a mansion. Don't let the name fool you - it doesn't describe the size, its just a name to distinguish from apaatos. The features of this type are think concrete walls, multi-story, security lock, balcony, and furoringu (wood flooring). They tend to be much more expensive and smaller, but newer and nicer. In most cases, you have to buy your own fridge and washing machine, but they arent that expensive.



Apartments are measured in -jo which is the equivalent of one tatami mat, or about 1.65 meters sq. So a typical 6-jo room is about 12 sq meters (or 10' x 12'). The number of rooms are labeled such as 1K, 1DK, 1LDK, 2LDK and so on..the first number is the number of bedrooms and K = sep kitchen, D = sep dining area, L is living room, and just a 1 is a 1-room studio with kitchen as part of it. Also, the toliet and shower are in separate rooms, which if you think about it, makes a lot of sense...

The sticker shock comes in when you consider all the associated costs with the move in, for either type. The first hit is the reikin. Basically its a gift (bribe) given to the landlord for letting you rent their place. It's usually 1 or 2 months rent. You don't get that back. Then there is the shikikin. That is the security deposit and chances are, even if you leave the place immaculate, I've heard you never see all of that back again either. That is also about 2 months rent. Last, but not least, is the chuukai-tesuuryou which is the finder fee for the real estate company, which is usually one month rent. So in all, we are looking at about 5 months rent up front, or about 5 grand. Most of which goes bye-bye. As they say, "shikata ga nai", or "there's nothing you can do about it".